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Glimpses of Europe 

Historical, Political, Social, Etc. 

By Randolph Churchill 



Glimpses of Europe 



HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, 
SOCIAL, ETC. 






J he contents of this booklet are abstracts from a series of articles pub- 
lished in the Milwaukee "Sentinel," 1909, and written 
from Europe by Randolph Churchill, the 
well-known writer, traveler and 
correspondent. 



3>' 




Printed by 

FRED. KLEIN CO. 

126-132 Market St., Chicago, III. 



Switzerland. 



A Unique Republic Democracy. 

ZURICH, Switzerland, Jan. 18. — One of the most 
interesting countries in the world is little Switzer- 
land, not for size, wealth or population, but because 
of its romantic, tragic and unique history, strategic 
position and modern democracy. 

It is by far the oldest of all popular governments, 
its altitude, situation and power is such that although 
surrounded by grasping monarchies for centuries, it 
has not been absorbed by Germany, Austria, Italy or 
France, and it was the glorious example of Helvetia 
that encouraged the Gauls to dispense with emperors 
and found another republic in the heart of Europe. For 
centuries the Swiss have remained intact holding their 
liberty and democracy so sacred that no temptation 
has been able to destroy the republic or mar their 
rugged character, but true to their ancestors each gen- 
eration in its turn has forged another link in the chain 
of a democracy which is today the cynosure of all eyes, 
the goal of liberty, and the world's experimental sta-y 
tion and political laboratory. ■ ' t : ■ 

The Swiss federation began its wondrous career as 
far back as 1291 when the little mountain cantons of 
Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the First Per- 
petual league, to be followed by Lucerne and Zurich, 
which was a great gain for the league, as the city of 
Zurich was even then a most important German city, 
famous for its intellectual and political influence. 
***** 

To be precise the modern Swiss republic began in 
the federal pact of August, 1815, when the twenty-two 



4 Glimpses of Europe. 

cantons bound themselves to a constitution establish- 
ing an enduring diet, and from that hour to this the 
Swiss have taken no small part in the world's progress, 
and in several ways it has outstripped many of the 
"great nations," especially distinguishing itself in re- 
cent years by showing the world what a people may 
accomplish when every man is a sovereign. 

President's Salary $2,000. 

In acres this republic is small, being but a little 
larger than Maryland, yet it has 3,500,000 brave and 
rugged inhabitants, and such famous cities as Zurich, 
Geneva, and Basel. 

The executive authority is vested in the bundesrath, 
or federal executive council, which is composed of 
seven members elected by the federal legislature, who 
in turn annually elect one of their members as presi- 
dent of the republic, but he, like each member of the 
council, must hold some portfolio, conducting one of 
the state departments, receiving the same salary 
($2,000 per annum) for his services, plus the presiden- 
tial mansion. 

The federal assembly composed of two houses is the 
supreme authroity, as there is no veto power given the 
executive, and no Supreme court having the power to 
annul its acts and decrees, yet there is a mighty check 
upon the legislative branch of the government, since 
the referendum, the bulwark of Swiss liberty, can be 
resorted to. 

The biggest legislative feat ever performed by this 
ingenious people was the nationalization of the raif- 
roads, as it met with the most stubborn opposition 
from the railroad companies at home, and from bank- 
ers and capitalists abroad, but after years of agitation 
the referendum decided in favor of state ownership. 



Glimpses of Europe. 5 

Favor Mild Beverages. 

After the constitution was amended giving the fed- 
eral government the sole authority to deal with the 
liquor question, M. Milliet proposed a federal monop- 
oly, and after the passage of the bill he was placed at 
the head of the alcohol bureau to administer the law. 




Zermat and Matterhorn, Pennine Alps, Switzerland. 



Viewed from a political or social standpoint the ex- 
periment commands our attention, and we find that 
the preliminary note underlying the Swiss treatment 
of the question is the discrimination in favor of the 
milder forms of alcoholic liquors. 



6 Glimpses of Europe. 

The hypothesis that the use of alcoholic drink in 

some form cannot be stamped out by a statute was 

assumed at the start, and the policy of the government 

has been to discriminate against the more noxious 

spirits. 

***** 

Swiss political philosophy based upon experience 
says, "in order to execute a law with any degree of 
success the vast majority of the people should believe 
in it," and I commend this philosophy to our prohibi- 
tion friends who depend upon a bare majority, only 
to find conditions are made worse by the ignoring of 
the law. 

The law assigns to the federal government the sole 
right to manufacture distilled liquor and distribute it. 

The government has absolute control of the distil- 
leries allowed, and what is needed from abroad the bu- 
reau purchases, as in no other way can spirits enter 
the federation, and then it distributes the spirits 
through its depots, but the retail trade is left in the 
hands of the private dealer, subject to local control, 
and in this country that means strict regulation. 

At the beginning the price was made low, but has 
been raised "in order to gradually wean the people 
from the spirit habit, and encourage the use of wine 
and beer." 

In speaking of the success of the monopoly, M. Mil- 
liet said : "So far as the sale of spirits is concerned, it 
has been distinctly successful ; we have put down the 
numerous small distilleries which sold bad, cheap spir- 
its among the peasants ; the quality of the spirits sold 
is better ; and the total quantity sold has declined by 
40 per cent since the establishment of the monopoly.". 

The net profits from the monopoly are divided 
among the cantons in proportion to population, with 
the express provision that one-tenth of it "shall be de- 



Glimpses of Europe. 7 

voted to combating alcoholism." More than $1,000,000 
is distributed annually among the cantons and goes to 
charitable and eleemosynary institutions. Cantonal 
and city authorities license the retailers and control 
the number and location of all cafes and places where 
spirits are sold. For mechanical and scientific pur- 
poses spirits are sold at cost. 




Peace Museum, Lucerne. 



"Distillation from certain native fruits, berries, and 
roots is exempted from the operation of the law and is 
free to any one," and these liqueurs are sold in many 
shops. 

City Has a Monopoly. 

In Basel there is a municipal monopoly of the retail 
trade, the city buying from the alcohol bureau and sell- 



8 Glimpses of Europe. 

ing the spirits to a limited number of retailers, whose 
premises are licensed and kept under close police su- 
pervision, the government reserving the right to can- 
cel the license at any time without compensation. 

When the federal government shut down 1,200 dis- 
tilleries it paid the owners the sum of $731,019. No 
confiscation here, and yet no fancy price was paid. 
The government has just gained a signal victory by 
banishing the baneful and insidious drink known as 
absinthe from Swiss territory. It was a big fight, since 
much capital was invested in its manufacture in the 
French cantons. 

As beer and light wines are considered "harmless" 
beverages, used in reason, they are sold in hotels, res- 
taurants, cafes, and, in fact, are universally used by 
the Swiss, and since these beverages are "encouraged 
and given a free hand, strong drink is constantly de- 
creasing, while the moral standard is being raised, and 
the-drink question is no longer such a serious and per- 
plexing problem," says a late state report. 

A prominent temperance statesman said : "We 
sent out commissions to investigate prohibition in 
other countries, but they all reported it a disappoint- 
ment, and, except in rural districts where a vast 
majority of the people were behind the enforcement of 
the law, a most disastrous failure, as 'speakeasies,' 
'clubs,' and 'walking demijohns' succeeded the saloon 
proper, and with all its faults it is preferable to illegiti- 
mate ways of selling spirits." 

This accords with the report of the Finnish commit- 
tee and also the report of Messrs. Rountree and Sher- 
well, the eminent English temperance authors, as to 
the condition in Maine, Iowa, and Kansas. The 
Swiss alcohol monopoly is considered a success, since 



Glimpses of Europe. 9 

it works well and decreases the output of drunkards, 
and this is more than one can say for prohibition in 
Maine. 

The federal government controls its banking affairs 
and has provided a national system of insurance and 
has also established courts of arbitration. Happy little 
Helvetia, "cradle of liberty," foe of monarchy, model 
democracy, no idle classes, no royal parasites, little 
poverty, no trusts, no great wealth in few hands, con- 
scious of its integrity, proud of its tried democracy, its 
snow-capped mountains, its stately forests, its fertile 
valleys, its beautiful lakes, its powergiving streams, 
and Us free institutions, little Switzerland is not so 
conservative as to be stagnant, nor is it so radical as to 
be unstable, but rather progressive conservatism is its 
most distinguishing characteristic. 



London. 



War Talk, Socialism, Liquor. 

London, February 20. — A crisis upon the European 
chess-board is thought by "one upon the inside" to be 
imminent, yet the optimist must brush such a hint 
aside, and appeal to the more peaceful instincts of the 
nations. 

"Thirty-eight years ago the new German empire was 
born at Versailles after the great kaiser and Bismarck 
had driven the French to bay, and absorbed Alsace- 
Lorraine, besides exacting billions of French gold. 
These have been thirty-eight years of comparative 
peace — for the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, the Span- 
ish-American war of 1898, the South African war, and 
the Russo-Japanese war hardly troubled the tranquil- 



10 Glimpses of Europe. 

lity of Europe as a whole. What forces are working 
C( msciously or blindly toward an upheaval? What 
men are, wittingly or unwittingly, guiding the destinies 
of Europe? Where, and in whose hands, are the levers 
that move the mass?" 

The keen eye sees no lever, but a brake — the fear of 
war, baptized "love of peace." Bismarck was the last 
European statesman to deliberately plan war ; he 
sought and pursued it to the bitter end, and while his 
disciples have threatened to follow the "Iron Chancel- 
lor," they have not spoken through the cannon. 

The spirit of democracy and liberty is playing havoc 
with "divine sovereigns," and bureaucratic conspira- 
tors, and while the rumblings are only distantly heard, 
yet the political earthquake is sure to follow, and the 
map of Europe may need revision. 



Socialism is a growing factor the world over, and the 
twentieth century statesman must be prepared to meet 
it, and "offset" it by providing something better. 
While it has failed to score a powerful vote in the 
United States yet the parliaments of Europe are not so 
fortunate, as the socialists claim 132 members of the 
Russian Douma out of 440, and the following mem- 
bers in the chief legislative bodies of the countries 
named: Austria, 87; Finland, 80; France, 52; Ger- 
many, 43 ; England, 32; Belgium, 30; Italy, 25 ; Den- 
mark, 24; Sweden 15; Norway, 10; Holland, 7; Lux- 
emburg, 7; Switzerland, 2, and Servia, 1. 

The latest socialist parliamentary vote in Germany 
was 3,258,568; Austria, 1,641,948; France, 900,000; 
Belgium, 468,994; United States, 409,230; Great Brit- 
ain, 350,000; Finland, 330,000; Italy, 320,000; Den- 
mark. 77,000; Switzerland 70,000; Holland, 66,748; 



Glimpses of Europe. 



11 



Norway, 45,000; Sweden, 35,000; Spain, 29,000; Chile, 
18,000, and Bulgaria, 9,000, hence we find the socialist 
a fact, rather than a theory, and when we consider the 
personnel of this remarkable movement we realize that 
the political revolutionary spirits of the first socialist 
are "going up and down the world seeking whom they 
may* destroy," not neglecting to gather some of the 
world's best intellects beneath their banner. 




The Famous Trafalgar Square, London. 



Here in London we find the eminent author-actor, 
Bernard Shaw, and Dr. Campbell of City Temple 
among the leaders of the "new democracy," as it is 
called. 

Every three years the socialists of the world assem- 
ble to discuss the problems of their common faith; 
they meet next in Copenhagen in 1910. 



12 Glimpses of Europe. 

Licensing Bills Killed. 

The all-absorbing theme here is the late licensing 
bill, which after passing through the commons — being 
the pet issue with Premier Asquith, and his govern- 
ment — met its doom in the house of lords. 

* * * 

High license has reduced the number of saloons, 
yet it has failed to lessen drunkenness itself; prohi- 
bition has outlawed the legal saloon only to fill the 
land with bogus drug stores and "speakeasies," hence, 
the temperance men in the house of lords say they 
will never pass a measure that does not improve 
the whole situation, and this being their resolve we may 
hope for some legislation that will be for the public 
weal and really prove a temperance measure. 

Plan a Model Measure. 

A model public house has been outlined in a bill in- 
troduced into the house of lords by Lord Lamington, 
and supported by the True Temperance Association, 
and it, or something even better, will become a law, 
for the English, like the Swiss, the Dutch, and the 
Scandinavians, are bent upon reform in reference to the 
retail sale of dangerous spirits. 

Lord Lamington's bill runs thus : A bill to facilitate 
the provisions of accommodations for supplying food, 
and other improvements in connection with premises 
licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquors by retail : 
Be it enacted : 

1. In exercising powers with respect to granting 
permission for structural alterations upon or extension 
to premises licensed for the sale of liquors by retail, 
the licensing justices shall not do so in such manner as 
to interfere with : 



Glimpses of Europe. 13 

(a) The provision of accommodation for the supply 
of tea, coffee, cocoa or food. 

(b) The making of such premises, or any part 
thereof, more open, airy, well ventilated or clean. 

(c) The improvement or enlargement of the sani- 
tary accommodations. 

(d) The substitution of chairs and tables, either 
wholly or partly in lieu of existing bar accommoda- 
tions. . 

(e) The provision of games, newspapers, music, or 
gardens, or any other means of reasonable recreation. 

The existing law enables the authorities to exercise 
their judgment in licensing a public house, and if this . 
bill of Lord Lamington's becomes the law it will mate- 
rially improve the present houses, and practically end 
the cross-roads joint and city gin palace. 

Encourage Mild Drinks. 

However, the English are still far behind Holland, 
Switzerland and the Scandinavian kingdoms, for in 
those countries ample provision is made for the sale of 
the fermented beverages in stores, hotels and cafes, 
while spirits — alcohol, or ardent — are subject to strict 
regulation. 

The fight is the same the world over, the "low dive," 
the "wineroom," and all that goes with it, and the "gin 
place" is the sinner, and as prohibition and high license 
have failed to settle the question the real statesman 
must provide measures that will eliminate the evils, 
and reduce the output of drunkards. The conditions in 
Portland, Maine, and Savannah, Ga., show the absolute 
futility of prohibition, as does Glasgow, Scotland, in 
the case of high license, yet Zurich, Switzerland ; St. 
Petersburg, Russia; Bergen, Norway; Gothenburg, 



14 Glimpses of Europe. 

Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark, all point ont the 
effective results obtained in these advanced temperance 
nations, by judiciously regulating the sale of all strong 
spirits, and promoting the use of the mild beverages as 
a temperance measure, by giving them a free hand. 

Have No Liquor Problem. 

The nations who use good beers and light wines are 
not bothered with the "liquor problem" to any great 
extent, since these mild beverages soon take the place 
of ardent spirits, as is proven by the example of Switz- 
erland and Norway, yet it seems England and America 
are a long while following in their footprints. 

Mr. Gladstone observed long ago that "the English- 
man will always demand his ale, and his wine, but you 
can wisely curtail the use of strong spirits by just and 
reasonable regulation, and above all, you can so im- 
prove the public house, that the evils will be greatly 
diminished, but you can do nothing by coercion, even 
under the guise of law," and what he then said applies 
to England, and* I may say America, today, and I point 
to the failure of high license in Glasgow and prohibi- 
tion in Portland, Des Moines, Wichita, and Savannah, 
in America, as the absolute proof, for both have failed 
to solve the problem, and are still at sea while little 
Holland provides three grades of licenses and practi- 
cally settles the question. 



The Netherlands. 



Land of Dikes and Progress. 

The Hague, Holland, March 1. — With one exception 
— Great Britain — all the great nations, the United 
States, Germany, Russia, France, Austria and Japan, 
possess dependencies of little importance as related to 
the mother country, but here is a little speck of sand 
hills and made ground of 12,582 square miles, with 
5,591,701 people actually owning a colonial empire, for 
in the East Indies Holland claims 738,000 square 
miles, with a population of 38,000,000. 

* * * 

. There are over 3,000 kilometers of railways, state 
and private, and 35,000 kilometers of telegraphs, mostly 
in the populous sections of the kingdom, thus forming 
a veritable network of rails and wires, besides the 
thousands of miles in canals and rivers. 

The mercantile marine of Holland is immense, there 
being over 300 steamers and 500 sailing vessels 
proudly hoisting the Dutch flag upon the high seas, 
and over 12,000 sturdy Dutch sailors plying the sea. 
The tonnage of the mercantile marine is over 1,200,000 
cubic meters, hence Holland figures largely in the 
trade nations of the world, and begets our admiration 
for its commercial genius. 

Colonial Revenues Immense. 

The colonial revenue from the East Indies was over 
$72,975,975 last year, while its American possessions 
added other millions to its royal coffers. 



16 Glimpses of Europe. 

The above tells its own story and shows the great- 
ness of this little Dutch kingdom, which has more than 
once changed the world's map and caused the down- 
fall of kingdoms and monarchs, while it has added to 
the glory of other nations. New Amsterdam (New 
York) is already the world's second city, soon to be its 
first, and as the Germans have made Wisconsin such a 
great state, so the Hollander has added to the glory of 
beautiful Michigan in recent years. 

* * * 

Holland has two great commercial capitals, Rotter- 
dam, the great port with 350,000 people, and Amster- 
dam, with 550,000 inhabitants, which is one of the 
finest and greatest commercial cities in Europe. Am- 
sterdam is really the capital of the Netherlands, with 
its palaces and art galleries, yet the court resides at 
The Hague, which is now a beautiful city of 250,000 

people. 

* * * 

The Dutch are a great and mighty people, and I 
have been delighted to find them in the front rank in 
all reform work without being fanatical or visionary. 

Holland has long been rated as the "land of gin," 
and all Dutchmen are supposed to drink large quanti- 
ties of this fiery liquid, yet as a matter of fact this is 
a temperance nation, when it comes to the amount of 
pure alcohol consumed, the per capita being only 1.90 
gallons, while the great wine country of France con- 
sumes 3.75, and Great Britain shows 2.35. This was 
not always true of Holland, for not many years since 
when cheap spirits flooded the country, the situation 
was different from today. 

Law Settles Liquor Problem. 

The new law of 1904 was a masterful stroke in favor 
of temperance and practically settles the liquor prob- 



Glimpses of Europe. \7 

lem in this beautiful and scientific land, for Holland 
seems to have a way all its own of settling perplexing 
questions, going to the very root of the matter and 
judiciously weighing the possibilities and consequences 
of every act, avoiding hasty, rash and superficial ex- 
periments. Eefore the law of 1904 was enacted by the 
first and second chambers of the Dutch parliament a 
competent committee passed upon each clause. All 
agreed that the country needed to vastly improve the 
retail sale of alcoholic liquors, as the gin palace, the 
wine room and the rum shops were too plentiful, and 
there was entirely too much inebriety. 

Prohibitory laws and the results of their attempted 
enforcement in the United States, Canada and New 
Zealand, were thoroughly studied and rejected, for, said 
the committee, "if prohibition in Portland. Burlington, 
Des Moines and Topeka is practically a failure, what 
would it be in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Tht 
Hague?" 

Some favored the Swiss plan of making a state 
monopoly of spirits and freeing the malt and fermented 
beverages, but, said the committee: "We think well 
of the Swiss law, and, whatever we do, we shall pass 
such a law as will encourage the mild food beverages, 
such as beers, light wines, and ales, but Holland is not 
yet ready to manufacture and sell all spirits." 

Law Model in Details. 

Others look toward Gothenburg for a solution, but 
the committee replied : "While the Scandinavian ex- 
periment has accomplished something of a permanent 
character, yet we are unwilling to 'farm out' the right 
to sell liquors." So the sturdy Dutch found themselves 
unable to agree upon any system already in existence, 
and then concentrated their talents upon framing a 



18 Glimpses of Europe. 

measure that would remedy the apparent existing 
evils, curtail the consumption of strong spirits, stop 
the manufacture of impure, dangerous, and cheap spir- 
its, grant certain freedom and encouragement to the 
fermented beverages, and, above all, do away with the 
"grog shop," the "gin palace," and all the evils that 
attended these institutions, and make the places where 
drinks were to be* retailed as open and respectable as 
any other business place; hence, the saloons of Hol- 
land, with the exception of a few places where old 
licenses have not yet expired — for the "Dutch will not 
resort to confiscation" — are really first-class restau- 
rants, cafes, and gardens, and there are no whisky 
"joints" to do their michief as a consequence of a just, 
sensible and practical method of solving the problem. 
I visited a little Dutch village the other day and I 
found no saloon, for there were two good restaurants, 
where light wines and beers were sold, just as tea and 
coffee, and there was one large hotel cafe, where one 
could be supplied with any liquor, hence there was no 
inducement for any one to become a "boot-legger" or 
run a "blind tiger." 

Saloons Are Models. 

In fact the Dutch saloon is only a restaurant or cafe, 
where drinks are served, with music and papers to en- 
tertain or, at least, this is the rule. 

The first license provides for the sale of soft drinks, 
and this is merely an occupation tax; these places are 
not limited in number. 

The second license provides for the sale of all the 
soft drinks, beer, ale and the light wines, and all cafes, 
restaurants, hotels, gardens, music halls — not the 
cheap, objectionable species found in some parts of 



Glimpses of Europe. 19 

England and the United States — and clubs possess this 
license, as the fermented beverages are used just as 
freely as tea and coffee. This is really an intermedi- 
ate license, specially provided by the law "in order to 
decrease the sale of strong spirits and increase the con- 
sumption of the mild drinks." 

The number of these licenses is limited to the needs 
of the district in which they are located ; for instance, 
all hotels are expected to have this privilege, yet in 
certain residence districts even this license might be 
refused ; the fee is not large, yet the bond of the owner 
is large, as the law "takes no risks, and makes it prac- 
tically impossible for the cafe owner to sell strong 
spirits." As a matter of fact, none but a good, moral 
citizen in every sense of the term can procure a license 
to sell liquors of any kind in Holland, for his "refer- 
ences and bond must be first-class," as the cabinet min- 
ister put it. I am frank to confess that after careful 
study and investigation of all existing systems, I like 
this intermediate license the better the more I witness 
the results of its practical operation, and for this rea- 
son, and solely in the interest of temperance, and as a 
general reform, I advocate such a plan for the United 
States and Great Britain. 

The third license provided for by the Dutch law en- 
ables the owner to sell anything from tea and lemonade 
to pure alcohol, and to get this license one must meet 
the most stringent requirements, and the number of full 
licensed houses, be they hotels, cafes, restaurants or 
clubs, are absolutely limited to the population and to 
certain sections of the city, town and village, if the 
authorities see fit. The license fee is not oppressively 
high, yet it is ample, and the regulations are exacting. 
The state takes the high ground that strong drinks are 
and will be used by the people and as there are "great 



20 Glimpses of Europe. 

dangers attending the consumption of strong spirits, 
the government is only doing its duty when it abso- 
lutely regulates the sale and every detail connected 
with the public house," hence we find the Holland 
liquor laws practically as perfect as human ingenuity- 
can devise, and it gives great satisfaction. 

An eminent statesman, publicist and scholar said to 
me : "Why don't the United States, Canada and Eng- 
land adopt the Dutch plan, and thus settle their liquor 
problem in the interests of temperance and permanent 
order, instead of trying so many visionary and imprac- 
tical schemes?" 

I should like to write of other interesting achieve- 
ments of this well-balanced people, but I must close, 
since this letter is long enough already. 



Denmark, Land of Thrift. 



Copenhagen, Denmark, March 6. — Denmark, like 
Holland, is a small, but very interesting and powerful 
little kingdom ; it is the least of the north European 
states, with a constitution dating from July 28, 1866; 
consisting of the islands of Zeeland, Funen, Lollard, 
and the peninsula of Jutland, with the outlying island 
of Bornholm in the Baltic, and the little kingdom 
proudly occupies these islands, notwithstanding the 
winds of the Baltic or the North seas, since the gulf 
stream renders its climate warmer upon the whole than 
New York, yet lying much nearer the Arctic circle than 
bleak, cold and barren Labrador in North America. 
Its present contracted dimensions are the result of the 
Dano-German war of 1864, which stripped it of the 
duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and Lauenburg. 



Glimpses of Europe. 



21 



It has an area of 14,844 square miles and supports a 
population of 2,588,919, nearly one-half of whome live 
exclusively by agriculture, and one-fourth by manu- 
facturing, there being little useless aristocracy and less 




MC" — :~ .« ^." 'i ■ 






Hotel Bristol, Copenhagen. 



of the idle classes so common in many countries of 
Europe. With few very rich people and practically no 
pauperism, the people seem to be contented and pros- 
perous. Denmark last year exported to Great Britain 



22 Glimpses of Europe. 

alone butter to the value of the vast sum of $48,777,775, 
bacon $26,690,445, while eggs amounted to $7,750,000, 
which accounts for these dainty foods being plentiful 
in London, as well as popular. While Denmark is 
noted for its small holdings and for its many families 
who own their own homes, it is also a grain and live 
stock country, the grain yield of last year being over 
100,000,000 bushels and the live stock numbering: 
Horses, over 500,000; cattle, 2,000,000; sheep, 1,000,- 
000, and pigs, 1,500,000. 

The mercantile marine numbers over 4,178 vessels 
and the tonnage exceeds 520,000. There are more than 
1,879 miles of railway — mostly state railways — and 
3,980 miles of telegraph line. 

Kingdom's Financial Condition. 

The following table indicates the financial condition 
of the little kingdom for 1907, the latest statistics : 

Revenue '. $ 26,054,945 

Expenditure 23,695,005 

Total imports 166,677,770 

Total exports 115,608,335 

Public debt 71,647,720 

The debt is the only poor showing. Yet it is small 
when compared with some more fortunate nations. 

Like the Dutch, the Danes are adepts in colonial en- 
deavor, yet while fortune seems to have given Holland 
the choice spots of fertility, Denmark has found her 
allotment mostly in the cold and barren lands, since 
her West Indies Islands, though fertile, are meager in 
acres. Greenland, Denmark's largest colony, has 
34,000 square miles, yet it is cold and barren ; the 
government has a monopoly of the trade, and in fur, 



• Glimpses of Europe. 23 

fish, etc., it is important. Then there is Iceland and 
the Faroe Islands, and St. Thomas, St. John and St. 
Croix in the West Indies. 

Danes a Drinking People. 

The Danes are a drinking people, being only ex- 
ceeded in the amount of alcohol consumed per head 
by France, the land of wine, Belgium, the home of 
larger beer, and little Switzerland ; yet like these coun- 
tries there is little drunkenness as is understood by 
the term in England and America, or rather parts of 
the United States, for in beautiful, prosperous and 
happy Milwaukee one sees few drunkards. There is 
really little law upon the subject here, and custom 
seems to govern the matter, yet the legislative author- 
ity has had a committee at work for some time, and 
that body has, after study and thorough investigation, 
made a report of the conditions, and recommended the 
adoption of a bill that the committee has agreed upon. 

At present Denmark has one place where drink can 
be bought to be consumed on the premises, or to take 
away, for every 145 people, hence there are thousands 
of hotels, restaurants, cafes and gardens where liquors 
of all kinds are served, and many more places, such 
as groceries, tobacco shops, wine merchants and pro- 
vision dealers, where it can be bought to take away. 

Some years ago the church party and the temper- 
ance societies decided to do something that might keep 
the people from using such large quantities of mean 
spirits, and they appealed successfully to the govern- 
ment to remit the tax on light beers (2y 2 per cent alco- 
hol, weight), so that they might be able to open tem- 
perance restaurants where they would serve only this 
light beer in connection with the soft drinks, and food, 
of course. The experiment has been very successful 



24 Glimpses of Europe. 

and has reduced the consumption of spirits throughout 
the kingdom, I am informed. 

The new law will incorporate this idea, and may even 
extend it, as the Danes are rapidly becoming a beer 
instead of a spirit drinking nation. The committee re- 
ported "that inasmuch as the attempt to prohibit all use 
of alcoholic spirits had proved such a failure in parts of 
Canada, the United States, and other countries, that it 
would be folly to try the experiment in Denmark." 

"The Gothenburg plan has some good points, but 
we do not care to farm out the business in spirits to 
companies," says the leader. "The spirit monopolies 
of Switzerland and Russia no doubt increase the con- 
sumption of the fermented beverages, yet we do not 
care to manufacture spirits or sell them by the state," 
say the authorities. 

So, after covering the field and rejecting all the plans 
in operation in other countries, the new law will most 
likely provide for three classes of permits, and will 
approach the Dutch plan in some respects. 

First — A permit to sell beer — not over 3 per cent 
alcohol — along with the soft drinks, tea, coffee, etc., in 
restaurants, cafes, hotels, etc., without restriction as to 
number, being only required to secure the usual occu- 
pation tax permit. 

Second — A license with small fee and some restric- 
tions, to sell all the above and all beers and wine in 
hotels, cafes, etc. 

Third — A full license or permit to sell alcoholic spirits 
of all kinds, with a fee attached, and regulations as to 
size, surroundings, etc. 

In other words, this last will constitute the public 
house in full. 



Glimpses of Europe. 25 

The unique feature of the Danish system is in the 
fact that the government remits all taxes and revenue 
upon the light beers, solely as a temperance measure. 
In all the government shops and factories this mild 
beer is sold to the workingmen, hence the Danes have 
really gone further in encouraging the use of mild beer 
than any other nation, and whatever else the new law 
does, it will carry out this principle, and provide for 
what is here called the "temperance restaurant," 
whether it be a private or government establishment, 
for there are many of both. 

Strikes at Low Places. 

However, the proposed new law does not contem- 
plate a revolution, for everybody uses stimulants in 
this climate, but is meant to reach the low order of 
places in the cities and towns and the "cross-road 
joint" in the country. 

Denmark produced last year 2,170,000 barrels of 
beer, or 21.1 gallons per capita, and there are 362 
breweries. 

The Danes are a saving and industrious people, as 
the returns give them the first place in savings banks 
deposits. 

Copenhagen, the only big city, is one of the finest 
capitals in the world, and one of its most interesting 
and beautiful cities. It now claims a population of 
550,000, and it is the commercial metropolis of all this 
region, sending forth its goods into the other Scandi- 
navian kingdoms and northern Germany. If "Paris is 
France" Copenhagen is even more so Denmark, for all 
centers here. 

The Danes are not content to let the Germans and 
English do all the passenger business to and from the 



26 Glimpses of Europe. * 

new world, hence they have the "Scandia-American 
Line," with some excellent vessels, the "United 
States," and others plying' between Copenhagen and 
New York. 

The king, Frederick VIII, is a most democratic sov- 
ereign, and lives in a modest palace ; he likes Ameri- 
cans very much and our minister here, Dr. Maurice 
Egan, is favored in every way by the king and the 
people. 

The parliament makes all laws, and the government, 
consisting of the prime minister and ministers of war 
and marine, interior, foreign affairs, justice, minister 
for Iceland, public worship and instruction, finance, 
public works, agriculture, and commerce, executes the 
law. 

The Lutheran is the state church, yet the Roman 
Catholics are here, and the American Methodist Church 
has quite a following, and a conference in Denmark. 

Taken all in all, Denmark is a splendid little king- 
dom, and her people are prosperous and happy. 



Sweden. 



The Famous Gothenburg System. 

Gothenburg, Sweden, March 10. — The modern king- 
doms of Sweden and Norway were united under one 
sovereign from 1814 until the dissolution of 1905, when 
Norway tired of the union and began housekeeping 
alone, seeking a monarch in the person of the Danish 
Prince Haakon, instead of becoming the first republic 
in northern Europe. 

Sweden comprises the eastern half of the Scandi- 
navian peninsula, to the west of the Baltic Sea, and 



Glimpses of Europe. 



27 



has besides the capital, twenty-four provincial govern- 
ments, with an area of 172,876 square miles, a little 
larger than California, but in length reminding one of 
the Golden State, with the Baltic washing its eastern 
side instead of the Pacific warming its western coast ; 
but while California has only 1,600,000 inhabitants, 
Sweden has 5,377,713 people ; about 7,000 of them 
being "Laps," 20,000 Finnish, and 35,000 foreigners. 




Familiar Scandinavian Scene. 



The kingdom for the most part is flat with pleasant 
undulations, rising in the northwest to the Kolen 
Mountains, which separate Sweden from Norway, and 
may be divided into three separate districts — the north- 
ern, forest; central, mining; the southern, agricul- 
tural; and this fertile section reminds me of southern 
Michigan. 



28 Glimpses of Europe. 

About 51 per cent of the people are engaged in agri- 
culture, some 300,000 being owners, and 53,000 tenants 
of the soil they till — a most significant and happy con- 
dition. 



The Swedes are of Teutonic origin. They are gen- 
erally tall and handsome, and their women are among 
the prettiest in the world. 

This little, but great, nation has given the world 
some of its greatest characters. Among rulers and 
statesmen we find such heroes as Gustavus Vasa, Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, Charles XII, and, more recently, such 
statesmen as the present prime minister, "M. Lindman. 
Scandinavia has given the world many eminent men 
in science, music, drama, art, and religion, as well as 
literature. In this connection I may mention Louis de 
Greer, Carl von Linnie, Emanuel Swedenborg the great 
religious philosopher, Strindberg, Ibsen, Ericcson, 
Prince Eugene Lorn, Carl Larsson, and Jenny Lind, 
the world famous singer. 



Sweden has many beautiful little cities and busy 
marts. Stockholm, the capital, has now a population of 
337,460, and is one of the most beautiful of European 
cities; but'Tts "second ^city," Gothenburg, of about 
160,000 people, is one of the world's famous cities, since 
it gave society the well-known "Gothenburg system" 
of dealing with the traffic in ardent spirits. The Goth- 
enburg system has been talked about and written of 
so often that it has almost become monotonous, yet 
few really understand the system. Its enemies deride 
and misrepresent it, and some of its friends entirely 
overrate it in its full scope and aims, as well as in its 
practical workings and effects or results. 



Glimpses of Europe. 29 

Comparison on Liquor Laws. 

Sweden has more laws, regulations and ways of 
dealing with the sale of spirits than any other coun- 
try, and at the same time it exceeds most nations in 
its number of inebriates among the working classes, 
while a sister kingdom, Denmark, has almost no law or 
regulations upon the subject and very little drunken- 
ness, as paradoxical as this condition may seem. 

M. Andre, the able director of the Gothenburg bolag, 
has pointed out the remarkable fact that whereas the 
consumption of alcoholic spirits in Sweden amounted 
to 4.5 liters per unit of population, in Norway to 2.69 
and in Denmark to 10.87, the number of those arrested 
for drunkenness in the capital of Denmark amount to 
7,797, or 20 per 1,000 inhabitants; in the capital of 
Sweden to 11,232, or 37 per 1,000, and in the capital of 
Norway to 17,083, or 75 per 1,000 inhabitants; and yet 
the population of Copenhagen formed 19 per cent of 
the whole population of Denmark, whereas, that of 
Christiania forms 10 per cent of Norway's and that of 
Stockholm merely 6 per cent of Sweden's. He explains 
this by referring to the different customs and the na- 
tional character of the three countries. 

We must bear in mind that the bolag controls only 
the retail and bar trade in all spirits containing upward 
of 25 per cent alcohol, and has nothing to do with the 
manufacture or wholesale trade in alcoholic liquors, 
are absolutely free, and anyone can sell these. 
Besides, all beers and wine under 25 per cent alcohol 
are absolutely free, and anyone can sell these. 

There are two kinds of licenses allowed here in 
Sweden to sell spirits. ..The first is called "on," where 
spirits are served with or without food, and must be 
drunk upon the premises. The second is styled "off," 



30 Glimpses of Europe. 

where all spirits are sold in bottles, but not in less 
quantities than one liter (a quart), and must not be 
opened in the shop. The first is a bar license and is 
used by the bars of the bolags, the hotels, restaurants, 
and cafes allowed to sell spirits. The second is a retail 
license and is used by the shops selling spirits in bot- 
tles. 

There are many wholesale liquor houses, but these 
need no license ; and as for the thousands of shops, 
hotels, cafes, etc., serving and selling beers, of course, 
there is no license required, as beer is a free article of 
commerce, and thousand of shops sell it in connection 
with other goods. Besides all hotels, cafes, etc., which 
sell beer, there are over 500 "off" beer shops in this 
city, with seventy-nine regular beer bars, and also 
many "small beer" places, and beer is sold all over 
Sweden just as tea or coffee, no prohibiting law in any 
section affecting beer or wine. 

Licenses Not All Used. 

The Gothenburg bolag has ninety-four licenses at its 
disposal, sixty-one "on" and thirty-three "off." It uses 
some of them, lets others, and still twenty-six are left 
unused. The bolag has thirteen bars (saloons), four 
eating places where one dram is allowed with the 
lunch, and where 3,000,000. working people ate last 
year; two restaurants and seven retail places, where 
spirits are sold in bottles. The bolag lets eighteen bar 
licenses to the big hotels and restaurants, which leaves 
twenty-four that are unused. Of the "off" licenses, it 
lets twenty-four to dealers who sell by the bottle, and 
this leaves only two of the "off" licenses unused, 
making twenty-six in all that remain subject to use. as 
the city allows ninety-four. 



Glimpses of Europe. 31 

The bolag runs seven reading rooms and eating 
houses where "small beer" only is used, and this feat- 
ure of its work is the pride of the director, M. Andre, 
not because the company loses money upon these 
places, but "because it is philanthropic and increases 
the use of mild beer, instead of cheap spirits," as he 
puts it. 

The bolag, or company, has its shareholders, who re- 
ceive only 5 per cent on their investment. Then the 
balance of the money goes to the state and city, and is 
used in various ways. Some bolags put more of their 
profits in philanthropic agencies than others, but all 
the details are too many to give in this article. 

Success of Experiment. 

I have given the facts as to the liquor traffic in 
Sweden, and told of the Gothenburg system just as it 
is, because the question is so interesting the world 
over. I must say the experiment has accomplished 
much in both Sweden and Norway, and mainly be- 
cause these countries were formerly flooded with 
cheap, inferior spirits, to the detriment especially of 
the working classes. 

With the exception of a few fanatics, the people of 
Sweden are more than satisfied with their original, 
unique and now famous system, and the world will 
watch its further development with intense interest. 



Norway. 



The Former Habitat of the Vikings. 

Christiania, Norway, March 20. — The kingdom of 
Norway forms the northwestern part of the Scandi- 
navian peninsula, which is separated from northern 
Europe by the Baltic. The area is 124,495 square 
miles. Its width in the south is about 250 miles, in 
the northern half only 60, yet the length of the coast 
around the outer belt of rocks is 1,700 miles. The en- 
tire shore line, including the fjords in and out, and the 
large islands, may be set down as 12,000 miles, and 
would stretch half-way around the globe. 

The north coast of Norway is washed by the Arctic 
Ocean and Spitzbergen is thirty-six hours' sail from 
Hammerfest. Every year the Norwegian sealers 
cruise about the sea as far as it is open in the north, 
and the name of Norway has been associated with the 
history of polar exploration from Othar, in King Al- 
fred's time, to Nansen. 

Voyages of Norsemen. 

Iceland and Greenland were colonized by Norway a 
thousand years ago and even today they speak largely 
the old Norwegian tongue, Both of these islands 
were lost to Norway at the dissolution of the union 
with Denmark in 1814. The voyages of the old Norse- 
men were even extended to the American continent, 
and if we sail south from the Shetland Isles we have 
the Orkneys, Sutherland, the Hebrides, and the Isle of 
Man, all stations on the western route of the vikings, 
and Norwegian possessions for centuries. 



Glimpses of Europe. 



33 



Norwegian kings ruled in Dublin for 300 years ; the 
conquerors of Normandy were chiefly Norwegian vik- 
ings, and the history of Norway is dramatic with 
both romance and tragedy in plenty, even if it is today 
only one of the minor kingdoms of Europe. Norway, 
after breaking with Denmark in 1814, proceeded to 
ally itself with Sweden under the same king, which 




Election Day in Norway. 



union lasted from November 4, 1814, to June 7, 1905, 
when it was dissolved. This leaves Norway where it 
was at its foundation in 872 — an independent kingdom. 



Has Large Ship Tonnage. 

The immense ship tonnage of this little kingdom 
means a large import and export business. In 1906 
Norway went to Great Britain for $23,917,377 worth 
of goods, and sent into that country goods to the value 



34 Glimpses of Europe. 

of $23,857,200, while she sent to America for $4,194,100 
worth of imports, exporting to America $1,474,300 
worth of goods. From Australia the Norwegians 
bought only $25 worth of goods, and they exported to 
that country goods valued at $959,777 for 1906. 

The railway mileage, including 251 miles of private 
lines, is 1,605, while the length of telegraphs and tele-" 
phones belonging to the state is over 10,000 miles. 
The mercantile marine is important and marvelous for 
a little nation of only 2,350,365 people, there being over 
7,600 vessels, with a tonnage above 1,550,000. 

Regulations on Liquor. 

In some districts in Norway, unlike Sweden, the sale 
of the fermented beverages is prohibited, and in these 
districts the conditions are simply alarming. Under 
the Gothenburg system, which was adopted in Nor- 
way, the fermented beverages are exempted from any 
restrictions and actually encouraged, but here in Nor- 
way the law allows the local political units the power 
to prohibit beer and wine along with spirits. 

In Norway the samlag controls the sale of all spir- 
it:-, while beer and wine are common articles of mer- 
chandise except in the districts where even the mild 
beverages are prohibited ; and it is giving general sat- 
isfaction, as it increases the public revenue, reduces the 
quantity of spirits consumed, and improves the quality. 
It also better regulates the public houses, and by con- 
trolling spirits, the samlag encourages the use of 
healthy beer, which is doing more for sobriety in all 
the Scandinavian kingdoms, according to the best au- 
thorities, than all the so-called prohibition societies ; 
for as a matter of fact prohibition only prevents the 
legal sale of standard beverages, while it opens the way 



Glimpses of Europe. 35 

for fraud, evasion of the law, and affords an open door 
for all sorts of poisonous concoctions. 

Raising of Revenue. 

The genius of the Norwegians is not confined to 
such eminent men as Ibsen and Bjorn, but it finds 
scope for its activities even in its governmental and 
financial policy, as for instance, the income tax and the 
succession tax, both of which reach the wealthy and 
lighten the burden of the working men. Then there is 
the state property income of $1,314,222, which comes 
from rents, allotted in most countries to the sovereign 
and royal family* Another instance of Norwegian dis- 
crimination is found in the fact that while excise on 
spirits is heavy, it is made light upon beer, yet so much 
of the latter is now being used the state received 
$800,000 from beer alone last year. 

While Norway has practically made the Gothen- 
burg system her own, with some modifications, and 
can control through the samlags the purity and sale 
of alcohol, yet it is not the policy of the government 
to push the sale of spirits at the expense of morals, as 
some zealous temperance people claim, for while the 
income to the state from the retail sale of liquors is 
large, yet the idea is continually to reduce the con- 
sumption of alcohol by giving the mild beverages a 
free hand. 

There are still many licenses to sell drinks of all 
kinds held by royal grant for life, and the holders of 
these patents sometimes sell their right to the state, as 
'the Scandinavians do not believe in confiscation; yet 
some of these places cause much mischief. The au- 
thorities are buying them up, and before long the sam- 
lags will be in complete control of the sale of spirits 
in all Norway. 



36 Glimpses of Europe. 

One thing is certain, the people are disgusted with 
a supposed prohibition that only results in demoraliz- 
ing the community and opens the way for the "boot- 
leg," ''the speakeasy" and the drug store, just as it 
does in Maine, Kansas and Georgia; and it will have 
to go in the large towns and resorts in Norway where 
it now obtains, unless all signs fail, so far as the light 
wines and beer is concerned. At the same time the 
people of Norway are determined to put an end to 
alcoholism, by absolutely regulating the retail sale of 
all "dangerous spirits when used to excess," and I 
may add that they seem to be succeeding remarkably 
well. 



Russia. 



The World's Biggest Empire. 

St. Petersburg, March 25. — Russia is one of the 
greatest and most powerful nations that has ever been 
known, and this gigantic empire of the twentieth cen- 
tury rivals the Greece of Alexander and the Roman 
empire of Augustus Caesar. 

We are accustomed in these days to rank the na- 
tions as follows : The United States, Great Britain, 
Germany, France and then Russia, but as a matter of 
fact, in many respects Russia is hardly surpassed by 
the great republic, which, of course, is today the most 
marvelous and inviting country in the world, although 
only a little over a century in its evolution and devel- 
opment. Of course, Great Britain, with its immense 
colonial possessions, claims the first place in acres and 
population, but one must bear in mind that densely 
peopled India, and tremendous Canada, and Australia 



Glimpses of Europe. 37 

accounts for this. Russia has an area of some 8,380,000 
square miles, while the United States has 3,622,933 ; 
Russia claims a population of 152,009,300, while the 
western republic has only 86,000,000. 

One-Sixth of World's Area. 

This wondrous empire comprises one-sixth of the 
world's area, extending across a large portion of its 
northern regions, almost monopolizing the Arctic cir- 
cle and descending southward to the Black Sea, em- 
bracing more than one-half of Europe and a third of 
Asia. 

The following facts will give one an idea of the 
versatility and vastness of the empire of Nicholas II: 

Russia proper, 50 provinces, 1,859,195 square miles, 
111,279,500 people; Poland, 10 provinces, 49,084 square 
miles, 11,138,700 population; Finland, 144,211 square 
miles, with 2,925,300 inhabitants, while Asiatic Russia 
has 63,326,544 square miles and a population of 26,- 
665,800, including the Caucasia, Siberia and central 
Asia. 

* * * 

The third douma is now in session, but let not the 
world believe this an independent parliament. 

However, the douma is something gained and is the 
first step toward constitutional government, thanks to 
Count Tolstoy, and the revolutionists, and the late war 
with Japan, which has been a blessing in disguise, 
since it revealed the vanity and weakness of Russian 
egotism, bringing a "divine ruler" and a haughty im- 
perial clique to their senses in a measure at least, but 
much is yet to be accomplished in this vast and 
contradictory empire before constitutional law and 
representative government are a possibility. 



38 Glimpses of Europe. 

Monopoly on Liquor. 

The government reports that its greatest source of 
revenue is from the liquor traffic, of which it now has a 
monopoly throughout the empire. 

Senator Tillman told me last year in London that 
the Russian government sent a commission to the 
United States some years ago to investigate prohibi- 
tion, local option and the South Carolina dispensary, 
and after returning introduced the monopoly, and while 
this is true, yet I must add that the commission also 
investigated the Gothenburg and Swiss experiments, 
and their present law is more in harmony with the 
Swiss plan than any of the others. The net receipts 
from the spirit monopoly for 1907 were $255,000,000, 
which goes to prove that the Russian people still use 
large quantities of spirits, since beer and the light 
wines are not included in the government estimates. 

The Russian system is a most interesting experi- 
ment, and one must bear in mind that the objects of 
the monopoly are twofold, and since its inauguration 
in January, 1895, these objects have been kept in full 
view, notwithstanding their seemingly antagonistic 
results. The first object is to "obtain for the benefit of 
the state the largest possible amount of revenue from 
the trade," and secondly, to "combat the consumption 
of ardent spirits and alcohol, and diminish drunken- 
ness." 

Provisions of the Law. 

The law provides for two classes of dealers: (1) 
The shops and depots of the government : (2) the 
traktirs, these being establishments where food is 
served as well as spirits, and the restaurants and pri- 
vate establishments which sell on commission for the 
alcohol monopoly. 



Glimpses of Europe. 39 

Drinking' in the government shops 'or depots is dis- 
allowed, as all spirits are sold in sealed bottles which 
must bear a label giving the quality, price and alco- 
holic strength ; the bottles are of many sizes, and the 
price must correspond to the contents, and the pur- 
chaser must not open them until his destination is 
reached. We may thus class these as "off" houses. 

The "traktirs" where food is supplied, and the restau- 
rants where spirits are served are found in all the 
cities, but even these are limited in number to the 
supposed needs of the local conditions ; these insti- 
tutions correspond to the public house in other conn- 
tries. 

Regulations Are Exacting. 

The "private establishments" are really only the 
"clubs" of the aristocracy and the associations of vari- 
ous kinds, religious, educational, secular, etc., and as 
all these establishments sell spirits on commission for 
the government the regulations are very exacting. 

The country "traktirs" and shops are only allowed 
to sell in sealed bottles as the peasants are not per- 
mitted to congregate in restaurants for drinking pur- 
poses, but I think this does more harm than good as 
they go home and soon drain their bottles. 

In the towns and railway stations all spirits may be 
sold in restaurants and buffets, but as the prices are 
made purposely high, the peasants are practically shut 
out. 

The government does not include beer and native 
light wines in its monopoly, not regarding these fer- 
mented beverages as dangerous spirits. 

Like the Swedes, the Russians have established what 
they call tea shops or temperance restaurants to com- 
bat alcohol, where food is supplied, reading rooms 



40 Glimpses of Europe. 

provided, and only light beer sold, and I find these 
institutions beneficial to the millions who possess few, 
if any, home comforts, and above all, they mean less 
vodka and more harmless beverages. 

We are often reminded by the prohibitionists that 
the Russian experiment is only a scheme to fill its 
coffers, and has no reference to temperance, but the 
law offsets this criticism by actually providing counter 
attractions, and by giving beer a "free hand," as the 
term is used in Europe. 

Land of Many Nationalities. 

Russia is a land of many nationalities, as it has 
conquered Pole, Fin, and Armenian ; the latest statis- 
tics tell us that the Russ represents 65.5 per cent of the 
population ; Turko-Tartars, 10.6 per cent ; Poles, 6.2 
per cent; Jews, 3.9 per cent; Finns, 4.5 per cent; 
Lithuanians, 2.4 per cent; Germans, 1.6 per cent; Cau- 
casians, .9 per cent; Mongols, .4 per cent; all others, 
2 per cent. 

Russia has an established church, but it tolerates 
all sects; the Greek Catholic, or orthodox faith, claims 
69.9 per cent of all the people, while the others are as 
follows : Mussulman. 10.83 per cent ; Roman Catholic, 
8.91 per cent ; Protestants, 4.85 per cent ; Jews, 4.05 
per cent; all others, 1.46 per cent. The Czar is at the 
head of the orthodox church, and more than in any 
other country, perhaps, the state church dominates 
politics, education, etc. 

Russia, with its immense natural resources, has a 
future of wondrous proportions, yet its difficulties are 
so many that an herculean task confronts its states- 
men, editors, authors, and teachers. 



Glimpses of Europe. 41 

While Russia is big in almost everything, it holds 
its place when it comes to great cities. St. Peters- 
burg, built by the great emperor, has 1,678,000 inhabit- 
ants, and is one of the world's great and beautiful 
imperial capitals ; Moscow, the ancient capital and the 
mecca of the faithful, is a most wonderful city of 
1,173,427; Warsaw, the great Polish capital, has 
756,426. 



Belgium. 



An Ideal Kingdom. 

Brussels, Belgium, April 16.— The Waterloo battle- 
field is now one of the world's most extensive inter- 
national military parks. This blood stained spot where 
Napoleon's star set and Wellington's rose to illus- 
trious luster, sending the brilliant Gaul to bleak and 
silent St. Helena to pine and die of a broken heart, and 
the "iron duke" to fame and honors seldom bestowed 
upon even a military hero, will forever render fame to 
Belgium, even if the contest was between Gaul, Teu- 
ton, and Anglo-Saxon, for at Waterloo the world's 
greatest and most decisive battle was fought, not ex- 
cepting Gettysburg. 

In area Belgium is less than the small state of 
Maryland, yet it equals New York state in population, 
being the most densely peopled kingdom in the world, 
(for Java is only a Dutch colony). The area is 11,373 
square miles while the population is now above 
7,238,622. 

History of the Nation. 

The present kingdom was anciently inhabited by the 
Belgae, a Celtic speaking German tribe, and part of the 



42 G I i inpses of Europe. 

Gallia Belgica of the Romans. In 1815 the country 
was made a part of the Netherlands, but found dissolu- 
tion in the revolution of 1830. On the memorable day 
of October 4, 1830, a national assembly proclaimed its 
independence, and on June 4, 1831, Prince Leopold of 
Saxe-Ooburg was chosen hereditary king. While the 
great republic has its July 4, this brave little kingdom 
glories in its October 4. 

* 

Two Official Languages. 

The small and compact Belgian kingdom must be 
cosmopolitan, bordering as it does upon German, 
Dutch and French soils, and, rarely as it occurs, there 
are two official languages here, Flemish and French, 
the former being the tongue of the masses, and the 
latter claiming the upper classes. In 1900 42 per cent 
spoke Flemish, 38 per cent French, while 12 per cent 
were able to speak both. 

Nearly all Belgians are Roman Catholics. In 1900 
there were 2,500 convents, inhabited by 6,237 monks 
and 31,668 nuns, this number now being greatly in- 
creased, owing to the disestablishment of the church 
in the land of Clemenceau, and the influx of French 
monks and nuns into "friendly countries." 



Essentially this is a manufacturing country, and its 
finished product finds its way into many countries. 

The total imports went beyond the vast sum of 
$754,700,000, while the exports were in excess of 
$569,306,350. 

The state owns its railways and claims one of the 
most perfect systems in the world. The mileage is 
2,860. There are also 1,357 miles of canals and navi- 
gable rivers in this progressive state. 



Glimpses of Europe. 



43 



While Belgium is small, yet it has in the Congo an 
imperial colony of 802,000 square miles, with 15,000,000 
black people in the heart of darkest Africa, over which 
the Belgian king reigned supreme until the world's 
protest compelled the government to take it over, and 
thus "relieve the king of all his burden." King Leo- 




The Great Palace of Justice, Brussels. 



pold deserves credit for backing the immortal Stanley, 
and he claims that his work has been a benefaction to 
the Congo Free State, yet the world thinks his mission 
was a thirst for ivory and rubber. 

However, when the truth is fully known Leopold 
will hardly appear so thirsty for gain, for as a matter 
of fact the Belgians are a noble people. Besides all 
colonial schemes have had their abuses and no doubt 
the King has been imposed upon by some of his sub- 
ordinates. 

Belgium the Land of Beer. 

This is the land of beer par excellence, as more 
gallons per head are consumed than in any other na- 



44 Glimpses of Europe. 

tion, and yet the consumption of alcohol is less than 
some other countries, showing that the people use beer 
of little alcoholic strength as compared with liquors. 

The fact is the Belgians live and thrive upon then- 
delightful malt beverages, and any one who would 
class beer as a "dangerous alcoholic drink" would be 
■ the object of ridicule. 

Lesson for United States. 

A distinguished United States senator remarked to 
me some time ago that he would favor giving beer a 
free hand in the States. As that senator has traveled 
in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, I can see why 
he reached this conclusion, for in these beer drinking 
nations there is hardly any thought of a "liquor prob- 
lem." 

As beer is absolutely an article of food and com- 
merce sold and used along with tea, coffee, sugar and 
bacon, of course it is never thought of as are absinthe, 
spirits, etc. Hence the brewers of Belgium are among 
the little kingdom's leading citizens in society, church 
and state, and I may also include the wine dealers. 

Little or No Drunkenness. 

Who ever heard of a country having more places per 
capita where beer and wines are served and sold and 
yet not a single "low dive" or "joint," and with the 
exception of some districts where the poorer classes 
use large quantities of cheap spirits, little or no drunk- 
enness? Yet this is such a land. 

I am here reminded of what a distinguished states- 
man said to me in Sweden : "After all our laws, regu- 
lations and attempted force measures to stop men from 
getting drunk, we only complicate matters, and make 



Glimpses of Europe. 45 

more drunkards, and then we have to fall back upon 
the good old Bible plan of persuading men to be sober, 
honest and lead Christian lives." From what I have 
seen of regulation, prohibition and the like, I am sure 
my friend is about right in his diagnosis of the prob- 
lem. 

Belgium has a fine public school system and two 
universities — Brussels and Louvain — besides many 
technical and other high schools. 

Celebrity of Brussels. 

Being so densely populated, this is a country of 
cities and towns, but it has one great city, which is 
one of the most beautiful, artistic, wealthy, and inter- 
esting capitals in the world. Brussels will soon reach 
the million mark, judging by its recent growth, but 
then it is more important than most cities of its size, , 
as it is the Belgian capital and a world center for art, 
music, literature, and politics. With its great public 
buildings, beautiful palaces, fine hotels, and exquisite 
parks and boulevards, the Belgian capital is indeed an 
interesting metropolis. 

Antwerp, with 350,000 people, is the second city and 
the great port, being the second on the continent. It 
is indeed a busy mart. Ghent is a remarkable historic 
cit}^ of 175,000; Liege is a unique place of 165,000, 
while Bruges, with 60,000, is the "oddest city on 
earth." 

Belgium is one of the most economical countries 
to live in in all Europe, and the traveler who slights 
this marvelous little nation makes a great mistake, for 
he fails to see the most prosperous, sober, and happy 
lot of people I know of in the old world, when all 
things are duly taken into account. 



46 Glimpses of Europe. 

Historically, politically, socially and commercially, 
Belgium is a wondrous little nation, with a genius 
born of necessity for economics in the best sense of 
that much abused term, for political and commercial 
stinginess is not economy. 



France. 



The Great European Republic. 

Paris, France, May 1. — The ancient kingdom, the 
first republic, the empire and the last republic of 
France are all most interesting subjects, replete with 
the historic, romantic, tragic and momentous events 
of these busy centuries. France always has been one 
of the great powers, and at times the most influential 
•of countries. When Louis XIV reigned in all his glory 
over Gaul, and when Napoleon reached the zenith of 
his wondrous ascension to power, France was second 
to none, but as I am only writing this article showing 
the present status of beautiful, resourceful and in- 
dustrious France, I can not dwell upon its past splen- 
dors and the great part it has played upon the world's 
stage of action, except incidentally. 

The United States, Great Britain and Germany rank 
this republic, yet in many ways and in some things it 
is still the most remarkable of all nations. It is re- 
freshing to find at least one great European nation in 
possession of the spirit of liberty and moral caliber 
which is essential to the existence and perpetuity of 
a republic. 

Republic Is Enduring. 

With all its faults, France to the American mind 
immortalized itself when it dethroned kings and em- 



Glimpses of Buropi 



47 



perors and erected upon its own initiative a republic 
worthy of La Fayette, Gambetta and Clemenceau, 
names as dear to Frenchmen as Washington, Lincoln 
and Cleveland are to Americans. Of La Fayette, both 
nations lean tenderly upon his bier, for while he aided 
Washington and helped to free the colonies he also 
helped to lay the foundation principles which have 
flowered in this modern Latin republic. 







The Place de la Concorde and Cleopatras Needle, Paris. 



The fall of the republic of Gambetta, Thiers and 
other heroic souls has been predicted a thousand times, 
but to no purpose, for the democracy is more virile and 
permanent today than ever before, with the two most 
masterful democrats of France at the helm — President 



48 Glimpses of Europe. 

FalliereS and Prime Minister Clemenceau, both prod- 
ucts of the common folk. The former is the Cleve- 
land of France in his simple honesty of purpose and 
democratic instincts, while the latter represents the 
Blaine of other days in his brilliant and resourceful 
statesmanship. 

* * * 

The religious controversy alarmed the friends of 
republican government, but it has passed and even 
the pope at Rome must accept the situation and abide 
by the mandate of the people. Separation of church 
and state is complete and both are the better for it. 

This country has long been attractive to foreigners 
and this is borne out by the fact that 1,009,415 resided 
here in 1906, representing 330,465 Italians, 323,390 
Belgians, 89,772 Germans and 36,948 English. It is a 
veritable mecca for tourists and travelers from all parts 
of the world, and especially a favorite zone for Ameri- 
cans. 

* * * 

There are 5,700,000 farms in France, and 65 per cent 
of these are small holdings of less than 100 acres, 
which accounts for the prosperity so prevalent among 
the masses. There are few great estates so common 
in monarchies. Gambetta well observed : "France is 
capable of becoming an enduring republic, as its rural- 
ists own the land they till, and the artisans are born 
freemen." This accounts for the transformation 
wrought in this fair land during the last century. 

* * * 

Means of communication in France add to its great- 
ness and beauty, for its roads are many and ideal, 
while its railways, rivers and canals form a perfect 



Glimpses of Europe. 49 

network. The railways become state property after 
the expiration of the concession. The total mileage 
in 1908 open for traffic was 25,100. The total receipts 
from pasenger and freight business reached the enor- 
mous sum of $335,683,995. The telephone and tele- 
graph business is in keeping with French progressive- 
ness, there being over 354,874 miles of telegraph wires 
under state control at present. 



For the last word in banking we no longer go to 
London or Frankfort, but to the capital upon the Seine, 
for France is now the world's banker and Paris the 
goal of the money lender. 

* * * 

The government of France is similar to that of the 
United States, there being a president, a senate and a 
house, with a cabinet to administer the law. The fol- 
lowing cabinet ministers show the versatility and 
comprehensiveness of the French government : Prime 
minister, minister of foreign affairs, minister of 
finance, minister of justice and public worship, 
minister of public instruction, minister of war, minister 
of marine, minister of commerce, minister of the in- 
terior, minister of public works, minister of colonies, 
minister of agriculture, and minister of labor. 

Cafes Make Paris Famous. 

The cafes, a French institution, are places where 
food of all kinds and drinks of all varieties are sold, 
and they are about as numerous in Paris and all France 
as they well could be. Like every business, thev must 
secure a permit and pay an occupation tax. As to 
license — high or low — there is no such thing, and 
hence there is no "saloon problem." Of course, all 



50 Glimpses of Europe. 

hotels serve drinks in their dining rooms and cafes, for 
the big hotels have both. 

There are thousands of places where wine, beer and 
spirits are sold over the counter, together with lunches, 
tea, coffee, chocolate, milk and cider, but in these places 
there is no loafing or gambling. Any dealer can sell 
wine and beer. There is no thought of restricting the 
sale of these beverages, and yet there is little drinking 
to excess. 

Becoming National Drink. 

While France is a vine growing and wine drinking 
nation, yet "bock" (beer) is rapidly becoming a na- 
tional drink, and before long it will divide honors with 
the product of the vine, to the delight of the farmers 
who raise the grain. 

The government places a high duty upon imported 
spirits, and taxes its own product upon a revenue basis, 
but it gives wine and beer every encouragement pos- 
sible so far as taxation is concerned. As to their use, 
they need no favors, for they are used as freely as tea 
and coffee, and even more so. 

The French consume per capita about 26.50 gallons 
of wine, 7.5 gallons of beer, and some 2.5 gallons of 
spirits, giving it the first place among the drinking 
nations. Nevertheless, in this free and happy land, 
where laws upon this subject are conspicuous for their 
absence, there is least occasion for "whisky laws and 

regulations." 

* * * 

As to cities France lays claim to the world's third 
city, and its gayest, most beautiful and fashionable 
metropolis. The population of Paris in 1906 was 
2,763,393, with only London and New York ranking 



Glimpses of Europe. 51 

it. Marseilles has 491,161 people; Lyons, 459,100; 
Bordeaux, 357,631, and Lille, 210,700. Besides there 
are some thirty cities of over 50,000. Few countries 
are so ideal in the proper proportions of urban and 
rural population, agricultural and industrial. 
* * * 

Socialism has gained considerable following in 
France, with fifty-two. members of parliament out of 
584, and polling a vote of 900,000 in 1906 at the last 
general election, with its great orator, Jaures, in the 
leadership. It will however, never rule France so long 
as such statesmen as Clemenceau are in command, for 
he has outwitted socialists, monarchists and revolu- 
tionists at every point. 



Luxemburg and Alsace-Loraine. 



A Beautiful Country. 

Strasburg, May 8. — Just before entering the beauti- 
ful and fertile Germanic state of Alsace-Lorraine I 
traversed one of the most unique little countries in 
the world. Diminutive as it is, Luxemburg is an his- 
toric and important speck of broken, rugged soil, not 
without its fertile acres and the habitat of a German- 
French-Belgian people, and I might add to this com- 
posite a little Dutch salt to season the whole. 

The grand duchy of Luxemburg is surrounded by 
France, Belgium, and Germany. From 1815 to 1866 
it was a part of the Germanic confederation and to this 
day it is included in the German "Zollverein," a happy 
relation for the traveler, since when the Luxemburg 
custom house is passed one is enabled to enter Alsace- 
Lorraine without again having to clear his baggage. 



52 Glimpses of Europe. 

Here we find a little nation speaking the French 
tongue officially and in general, yet it is Germanic in 
some of its relations and Dutch in others, but with a 
distinction all its own. The municipality has 342 miles 
of railway, with telegraphs and telephones operated in 
connection with the postoffice. 

Use of Wine and Beer. 

I tried to find an English or American saloon, but on 
failing I asked if the country was a prohibition zone. 
My informant was rather nonplused and explained 
their system, which is a splendid solution of retailing 
liquors. The government levies a tax upon all spirits 
in proportion to their alcoholic strength. In this way 
cheap, adulterated spirits are kept under, while wine 
and beer, which in general are encouraged. 

Beauty of Alsace-Lorraine. 

It is needless for me to say that Alsace-Lorraine is 
one of the world's garden spots and one of the most 
interesting and fruitful sections of Europe. The 
"reichsland" of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen), 
which was annexed by France from the old German 
empire between 1648 and 1697, and restored to Ger- 
many in 1871, embraces the fertile and beautiful plain 
between the Rhine and the Vosges, and stretches be- 
yond these mountains as far as Luxemburg, forming 
perhaps the prettiest body of land in Europe and 
surely one of great historic value. 

Strasburg Leading City. 

Strasburg is, of course, the leading city, and while 
it is an old town, partly French in appearance, yet it 
partakes of the Teutonic in its preponderance. While 



Glimpses of Europe. 53 

it is a great social and artistic center, yet its industries 
are many and are in a nourishing condition. 

This city is famous for its great cathedral, not so 
fine as St. Paul's, London, or the Milan temple, yet a 
great cathedral, built of red granite, with one spire 
still incomplete — i. e., if the architect ever intended 
two. 

Beautiful Strasburg has 180,000 people, and is one 
of the most compact of cities, with canals running 
through its precincts. Its delightful parks and shady 
avenues are at once beautiful and "well inhabited." 

To the south and just north of sleepy, wealthy old 
Basel is Muelhausen, a great steel and iron city — the 
Pittsburg of Alsace — with 100,000 cheery inhabitants. 
Then to the north and just south of Luxemburg lies 
the grand old historic fortified city of Metz, so famous 
in the wars of Europe, having furnished one of its 
greatest battles and sieges. Metz is still fortified and 
looks militant, yet it is today a thriving industrial and 
commercial city of 75,000 people, while it is the political 
and social center of Lothringen. 

Wine and Beer Everywhere. 

The people of this country are among the most in- 
tellectual and temperate in all Europe. They con- 
sume immense quantities of beer, wine and tobacco, 
and I often wonder what would become of the patience 
of our antis were they compelled to reside in beautiful 
Strasburg or industrial Muelhausen, or still, upon one 
of the pleasant farms in rural Alsace, for wine and beer 
are found everywhere. 

Are the people dead to all moral restraint, and do 
they possess no virtues of sobriety? asks the fanatic of 
Norway, Canada, Britain, and, I may add, America. 



54 Glimpses of Europe. 

But why offer such a query in reference to Alsace, for 
the people are moral to a degree, and as to sobriety, 
they know nothing else, since they use their mild, 
pure vinous and malt beverages with the utmost free- 
dom and never think of getting drunk. 

Little or No Intemperance. 

The same fact is demonstrated here as elsewhere. 
When the mild beverages are in common use there is 
little or no intemperance, and no "liquor problem" to 
solve. There is no place here for the professional 
agitator, male or female, and the political preacher ( ?) 
has no welcome in this country. 

The government and the people have not created a 
perplexing condition by playing "hide and seek" with 
the use of beverages, and they have never been so silly 
as to put wine and beer: — their favorite pleasure and 
food beverages — in the same class with gin, alcohol, 
absinthe and other strong spirits, although all of these 
are used in the hotels, cafes and gardens in the 
country. 

As in many other sections of Germany, the strong 
spirits are taxed high by the revenue laws, while wine 
and beer are left free from any special tax. 

We find no "joints," "gin palaces" and "wine rooms" 
in Alsace-Lorraine, for when the people can buy, sell 
and use wine and beer in their homes, hotels, cafes, 
public gardens and shops there is no occasion for a 
"low saloon," and as prohibition is unthought of, of 
course there is no reason for a "dive," "bootlegger" or 
"speakeasy." 

In this country there are many co-operative socie- 
ties, and the people get the benefit of the German 
economic systems. 



Sunny Italy. 



The Home of Music. 
Milan, Italy, May 15. — Empires rise and fall as the 
Chaldean, Greek, Roman and French bear witness, and 
as the British, Japanese and Russian demonstrate, but 
the land remains, and if this were not true the beautiful 
and interesting Latin kingdom of Italy would not 
occupy the resourceful peninsula, hemmed in by the 
Adriatic, Ligurian, Tuscan and Ionian seas, bounded 
upon the north by the towering and awful Alps and 
claiming the island of Sicily in the Mediterranean 
deep, forming a boot like tract of land replete in 
historic lore, volcanoes, fertile soil and great cities. 
The modern kingdom of Italy is the undying remnant 
of the Roman empire; of the Chaldean nothing is left, 
and of the Greek little. Greece of today is insignificant 
as compared to Italy, the central estate and nest egg of 
the great Roman empire. Julius Caesar, Cicero, 
Charlemagne, the great Gregory, and Savonarola are 
silent in their tombs, but Italy still survives and forms 
one of the most historic and inviting countries of 
Europe. 

Wondrous Old City. 

Rome no longer governs the world, yet it is a won- 
drous old city and not lost as is Carthage, but remains 
the proud capital of modern Italy, and still the eternal 
city of the Roman Catholic religion, and while the 
Pope has lost his sovereignty, his ecclesiastic authority 
has suffered little, since there are more loyal Catholics 
today than ever before, notwithstanding the thunder- 
ings of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox; the diplo- 
macy of Henry VIII., and the eloquent and persuasive 



56 Glimpses of Europe. 

power of John Wesley, the last of the world's great 
religious reformers. 

Monarchy Is Liberal. 

The kingdom is now one of the most liberal of the 
constitutional monarchies, with a parliament (senate 
and house of deputies) to make laws, and a responsible 
ministry to execute the statutes. Signor Giolitti, the 
present prime minister, is an able statesman, with 
many brilliant men in his cabinet. Signor Tiltoni, the 
foreign minister, is one of Europe's most clever diplo- 
mats. 

Victor Emanuel, the brilliant young King, is most 
liberal and progressive, and if I am able to judge 
aright, the Italy of today has nothing to fear, but 
everything to live and work for as a great nation. 

The Catholic religion is the dominating force in the 
kingdom, yet many denominations have missions and 
schools, the American Methodist church being in the 
lead. 

Socialism has not spared beautiful Italy, for in its 
parliament of 508 members the socialists have twenty- 
five, while the party polled 320,000 votes last general 
election. 

Nation of Wine Drinkers. 

Italy is one of the world's- greatest wine raising and 
drinking nations, and if everybody in Belgium drinks 
beer, the same is true of Italy in regard to wine, yet 
the "sunny land of the south" is not a stranger to the 
malt beverages, as the use of beer is increasing by leaps 
and bounds, and really challenges the product of the 
vine in northern Italy, for popular favor. 

There are thousands of "bars" in this country, and 
they are innocent looking things and correspond ex- 
actly to the soda fountain in America with the distinc- 



Glimpses of Europe. 



57 



tion that the customers sit around the tables, or 
stand before the counter and call for wine, beer, punch, 
(and sometimes whisky and "cocktails") coffee (black 




Beautiful Venice. 



and strong), tea, chocolate and other soft beverages 
and ices. 

I can see but little difference in these "bars" and in 
a first class soda fountain shop in America so far as 
decency and respectability goes, hence there is no such 
thing as a saloon where men loiter around and imbibe 
to excess, as is the case in London.' 

Permit on Bar Privileges. 

The owner of every shop in Italy must secure a 
permit by paying an occupation tax, and this is all the 
law requires of the man who opens a "bar." 



58 Glimpses of Europe. 

All hotels, restaurants, cafes and public gardens 
serve and sell wine and beer as a natural part of the 
menu, just as they do tea and coffee. 

The absolute absence of the disreputable joint in all 
these wine and beer drinking nations puts an English- 
man and American to thinking, and one wonders why 
those countries should confuse the product of the vine 
and malt beers, so nutritive and pleasant to use, with 
strong alcoholic spirits. An eminent Italian, of world 
wide travel and study, said to me : "Of course you 
Americans and English will continue to produce a large 
crop of drunkards so long as you use strong spirits 
and "cocktails," and your drugged soda fountain con- 
coctions are even worse and ruin the health of thou- 
sands. We use fine pure wine, and the government 
sees that it is pure, and, besides, we are rapidly learn- 
ing the value of the pure malt beers as a food and 
nutritious beverage. We use some spirits, but in 
moderation, and above all, we have no liquor problem, 
because we have never been silly enough, in spite of 
all defects, to class wine and beer as dangerous in- 
toxicants, as is the case in many countries." 

Of great and interesting cities the land of Victor 
Emanuel has many, the "Eternal City" and capital, 
Rome, being the most historic and extraordinary with 
475,000 people. Naples is the largest city with 560,000 
inhabitants. Milan has 500,000 souls in its busy and 
industrious precincts, and is the greatest commercial 
and manufacturing metropolis in the kingdom, as well 
as the wealthiest and most modern city in southern 
Europe. With its great cathedral (one of the world's 
finest), fine public buildings,' stately mansions, palaces 
and beautful parks, Milan is at once a wonderful city, 
noted for its art, music and culture. 



Glimpses of Europe. 59 

Genoa is the greatest port and second only to Milan 
as a business city. Venice, the city of the sea, is a 
great city of historic interests, and, of course, the 
world's most singular town. 

Florence, the art metropolis, is a fine city of 250,000. 
Then there is beautiful Turin in the Piedmont 
(350,000), Palermo, the chief metropolis of Sicily 
(325,000), and Bologna, Catania, and Leghorn, all 
important cities of over 100,000 inhabitants. Poor 
Messina, before the earthquake it was a busy mart, the 
domicile of over 100,000 people, but alas ! it is only a 
frightful mass of ruins today, yet struggling to rise 
aQain. 



Spain. 

Its Rehabilitation. 

Barcelona, Spain, May 18. — From the old famous 
French-Swiss city of Geneva to the commercial metrop- 
olis of Spain is not so far, as the crow flies, but it is 
long and tiresome, and, owing to the changes of trains, 
countries, and the variety of peoples met upon the way, 
even a globe trotter will hardly forget the journey. 
Spain is one of the most interesting countries in all 
this big world, for what it has been, and what it is to 
this day. As one travels through modern Spain and 
studies its people and its institutions his mind readily 
goes back to the days of the great King Phillip, when 
the Spanish led the world, for the earmarks of a former 
glory and power are here, even if history did not ring 
in one's ears. 

But Nelson and Napoleon did for Spain what Bis- 
marck wanted to do for France — reduced her powers 
to the minimum — and as fate would have it, the conti- 



60 Glimpses of Europe. 

nent to which she sent Columbus dealt her a lasting 
blow, when colony after colony declared its independ- 
ence from Mexico and Peru to Cuba (with the aid of 
handy and benevolent Uncle Sam), so that today, Spain 
is confined to her own native quarters and beyond the 
beautiful and fertile Iberian peninsula there is little 
soil belonging to Spain, but this is much, for a finer 
body of land is hard to discover, and new Spain pre- 
sents to the world the intrinsic worth of the Spanish 
empire, just as Italy is the preservation of the un- 
quenchable spirit of the Roman. 

Spain's Lovely Location. 

Spain has a lovely situation, being cleansed upon the 
south and east by the great ocean sea, and washed 
upon the west by the gray Atlantic and Portugal with 
the beautiful Bay of Biscay and the rugged Pyrenees 
between herself and Gaul upon the north; occupying 
the larger portion of the peninsula, Portugal being less 
than a fifth as large. 

America Spain's Best Friend. 

The irony of fate and, the Nemesis of "poetic justice" 
has had large dealings with the Spanish and really the 
great republic has been her best friend, as it paid her 
for Florida and California and last, but not least, dealt 
as a tender father with her in the late war and but for 
pride and the loss of her navy, I am sure the best 
thought in Spain rejoices in the loss of a lot of colonies 
that practically ruined the mother country for years 
and only benefited an army of wicked officials, who 
might be the original political grafters, "judged by 
their fruits." It is related that a mother begged the 
king not to make her son governor general of one of 
his colonies. "And why?" said the king; "it is a great 
honor and will bring riches." "Just so," said the 



Glimpses of Europe. 61 

mother, "but my son is now a noble and honest man 
even if he is poor, and I pray your majesty not to 
send him abroad, for I fear he will return a thief and a 
despot." 

Protection to Home Industries. 
Home manufacture is rigidly protected by high cus- 
toms duties and Spain hopes to become a manufactur- 




Public Square, Madrid. 



ing instead of *a conquering nation, and from my 
knowledge of the kingdom I am glad to say that some 
progress is being made, but as the Spaniard loves his 
ease and shade too well, and as he is wedded to the 
vine and the culture of fruits, manufacturing and wheat 
growing are naturally retarded, to his detriment, for a 
nation must have bread and manufactured goods. 

Of course, the Spanish use wine at the table and 
upon all occasions, and beer is becoming a popular 
beverage among the Castilians, and furthermore, 
spirits are used, but there is no saloon, no whisky 
problem, no temperance agitators and little inebriety. 
This is a land of wine shops, where one can order a 



62 Glimpses of Europe. 

drink, a bottle, or a jug, and these shops are every- 
where and then all hotels, restaurants, and cafes 
serve wine, beer, and spirits, just as they do in Italy 
and France. In this country everything is taxed, na- 
tional, provincial and local, to the limit, but there are 
no special taxes imposed upon wine shops, hotels, and 
cafes. 

I told a distinguished scholar that in America the 
people were taught that wine and beer were upon an 
equal footing with ardent spirits, and from his manner 
I suppose he thought I was trying to be humorous. 

The government levies a high import duty upon 
spirits, but there is no sort of special tax upon one who 
sells beverages other than the occupation tax that all 
dealers must possess, whether it be a wine shop or a 
jeweler. 

Barcelona is a most charming city of 600,000 people 
and the commercial metropolis of the kingdom. Like 
Genoa and Marseilles, it is one of the great seaports of 
the inner ocean — the Mediterranean — and is much 
larger than either. If Madrid is the Washington of 
Spain Barcelona is the Chicago ; it lies near the French 
border and is something of a cosmopolitan city and 
from the way it is growing and the vast improvements 
taking place it has a great future before it, as Spain 
grows and prospers under the new regime. 

Madrid, in the center of the kingdom, is the imperial 
capital and social metropolis and the city now has a 
population of 550,000. 

Most Beautiful Seville. 

Beautiful Seville, considered by some to be the pret- 
tiest city in the world, lies in the south ; it is a unique 
and fascinating city of 160,000 people ; then there is 
Valencia, Malaga, Murcia and Saragossa, all very an- 



Glimpses of Europe. 63 

cient and important cities, and besides these great 
centers of commerce, art, education and Spanish cul- 
ture, the kingdom has twelve other cities with over 
50,000 population. 

Cervera, the able and accomplished admiral, is dead 
and so is "Old Sagacity," as the famous old statesman 
who had led the Cuban war was called, but a younger 
set of statesmen are at the helm, and I am informed 
that constitutional government has come to remain, 
and that Spain's best days are before her. 



Austria-Hungary. 

The Great Dual Monarchy. 

Vienna, June 1. — After Russia the Austro-Hunga- 
rian monarchy is the largest state upon the European 
continent, possessing an area of 261,267 square miles, 
with a population (1900) of 49,425,000, surpassing the 
French republic by 10,000,000, but with 10,000,000 less 
than the German empire; however, in acres ifgoes far 
ahead of Wilhelm's domain, being equal to Germany, 
with Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, and Holland 
thrown in. This empire is about the size of the Lone 
Star commonwealth, yet Texas, big and great as it is, 
has less than 5,000,000 of people, while this empire now 
has above 50,000,000. 

The domain of Francis Joseph I. includes the empire 
of Austria, the kingdom of Hungary, and the provinces 
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently annexed. 

For many years the empire has been accused of fol- 
lowing in the wake of Berlin, but Vienna has at last 
come into its own, as Baron von Achrenthal, the emi- 
nent Hebrew diplomat and statesman, has led the pace 
during the last few months, making a kingdom of Bui- 



64 Glimpses of Europe. 

gana, annexing- Bosnia to his own empire, and stilling 
Hie troubled waters in little Servia, and, while he may 
not be the master hand in Europe altogether, he is 
certainly the biggest proposition developed in recent 
years among European diplomats, and he is not 
through yet, as the Herculean task of putting Turkey 
"in order" may fall to his lot, and at any rate he has 
much before him in adjusting the present difficulties 
in Hungary and keeping the Balkan states "in order," 
and the future historian of the last few decades will not 
be likely to omit his name, for he will be. given a niche 
hard by that of Cleveland, Bismarck, Gladstone, Blaine, 
Diaz, Taft, and Clemenceau if he maintains his present 
powerful influence, for while Cleveland made the Mon- 
roe doctrine a reality and saved his country from prac- 
tical financial anarchy, Bismarck carved out the pres- 
ent German empire, Gladstone made democracy a 
living entity in England, Blaine reached high in his 
statesmanship, Diaz has civilized Mexico, Taft has 
already set the world a new example of the real states- 
man as against the politician, this able and versatile 
Jew has given Austria a new status amongst the na- 
tions of the world, and, like Disraeli, he has shown that 
the Hebrew is capable of doing other things besides 
driving a bargain only to enhance his coffers. 

A Dual Monarchy. 

Since we have here a real dual monarchy, Austria 
and Hungary are practically two countries in their 
domestic affairs, customs and local laws. Austria, 
although the smaller, surpasses the land of the Mag- 
yars in population, and is the dominating power; it 
has an area of 115,922 square miles, and its inhabitants 
number 27,496,712. 

In this country the state owns and operates the rail- 
ways just as naturally as they do in Germany, but it 



Glimpses of Europe. 



65 



goes a step farther and has followed the example of 
France, and made a government monopoly of the sale 
of tobacco and matches, while they have refused to 
follow Russia and Switzerland in their spirit monopo- 
lies. 

In dealing with the sale of beverages, and intoxicat- 
ing spirits Austria seems to have taken time by the 
forelock, and to her credit be it said no "liquor prob- 
lem" has been created either by the states, or the agi- 
tators, so common in many another country. 

Long ago the government recognized the dangers 




pitji: 

i|l 5 S EjS | SEE 

■"'-' iii 





Parliament Building, Vienna. 



attendant upon the sale and misuse of alcoholic spirits, 
and at the same time provided simple and practical 
methods of dealing with the question, with due regard 
to permanency and temperance. In the first place, 
all dealers in intoxicating liquors are required to secure 
a license and give ample security as an evidence of 
their fitness, and a guarantee that they will not violate 
the law by audulterations, or by allowing their places 



66 Glimpses of Europe. 

to degenerate into objectionable "joints," but the li- 
cense is reasonable and the regulations are simple and 
just, hence neither the state nor the dealer has cause 
to be suspicious or oppressive. 

The principal places where spirits are sold are the 
cafes (these are really the saloons), the restaurants, 
the hotels, and the public gardens, and the amount 
paid for the license is in proportion to the sales ; it may 
only cost a little restaurant $100, while the big cafe 
across the street may be paying $1,000. 

The government also places an internal revenue tax 
upon all spirits in proportion to their alcoholic 
strength. 

In order to sell spirits in bulk the grocer and shop 
keeper has only to secure a permit, and this law applies 
to all dealers of whatsoever nature. 

A Wine Country. 

As this is pre-eminently a wine country any one can 
make and sell the product of his vine, and there are no 
restrictions upon the sale and use of wine, except when 
sold in a licensed cafe, and this is not because of the 
wine, but of the spirits dispensed and its being a public 
house. 

This is also a great country for lager beer, and while 
the brewer must pay more taxes upon his product than 
the wine grower, yet beer is universally used and is 
never regarded as strong spirits, but as a food and 
pleasure beverage, and like wine it is given what is 
now termed a "free hand" as in Sweden, Denmark, etc. 

* * * 

Vienna, the imperial capital, is one of the world's 
most magnificent cities, with over two millions of in- 
habitants, while Buda-Pesth, the capital of Hungary, 
is the domicile of nearly a million people, including 



Glimpses of Bur ope. 



67 



the environs, and it, too, is a fine city ; then there is in 
Austria the important cities of Prague, 225,000; Tri- 
este, the great Adriatic port, 150,000; Cracow, the 
Polish city, 100,000, and Brunn, the Moravian capital, 
besides several others, and Hungary has seven or eight 
cities over 50,000 inhabitants. 



The venerable sovereign, Francis Joseph I., emperor 
of Austria, and King of Hungary, was born of the 




A Famous Street (Ringstrasse) in Budapest. 

house of the Hapsburgs, August 18, 1830, becoming 
emperor of Austria by succession December 2, 1848, 
and was crowned king of Hungary at Ofen, June 8, 
1867, and now, at the age of 79, is one of the world's 
most active and successful rulers. 

With peace in the Balkans, and the problems of 
Hungary well in hand, I can see nothing less than a 
reasonable prosperity ahead of this unique dual mon- 



68 Glimpses of Europe. 

archy, especially during the life of the emperor-king, 
who with his masterful chief minister, Baron Aehren- 
thal, not only reigns, but rules intelligently and wisely. 



Turkey. 

The Seat of Ottoman Power. 

Constantinople, June 29. — To write correctly and 
authoritatively of the illustrious Mr. Gladstone's "sick 
man of Europe" at this moment is beyond the power 
of the historian from the political point of view, as 
changes take place so rapidly and as nothing seems to 
be settled. 

Only a few months ago the young Turks demanded 
a constitution and a parliament, getting both, and 
taking old Abdul Hamid II. into their hearts they 
gloried in telling of the virtues so long hidden behind 
the walls of Yildiz kiosk, and were ready to heap all 
the crimes of this modern Nero upon the heads of the 
Sultan's ministers, while many of these, some guilty 
and some innocent, were made to suffer exile, con- 
fiscation of property, and in many cases death, all for 
being helpless tools of the real monster, who for thirty- 
two bloody years behind walls, ruined and pillaged 
an empire. 

Demonstrate Their Mastery. 

With the young Turks in power, and the sultan 
playing the role of father, the world held its breath and 
tried to believe in the dawn breaking upon the Bos- 
phorus, yet there were doubting Thomases in all lands, 
and well there might be, for all the while old Abdul 
was planning the destruction of the new regime, and 
the scene changed, but only for a little, as the young 



Glimpses of Europe. 



69 



Turks surprised the world by demonstrating their 
mastery over the intrigues of even the cunning old 
sultan, and proved it by restoring the ministry, pro- 
claiming a new sultan and sending the old ruler to 
prison, where he now finds that "the way of the trans- 
gressor is hard." 




The Famous Mosque Sultona, Valide. 



Bigotry Is Worst Foe. 

The worst foe to Turkish peace arid prosperity is 
the awful religious bigotry one finds all over the coun- 
try, and the Musselman is not the only bigot, for the 
Armenian and the Greek Catholic have a full share of 
this virtue (?), and incidentally I may add that relig- 
ious bigotry and prejudice is not confined to this half 



70 Glimpses of Europe. 

civilized country, as I remember hearing some time 
ago a prominent Baptist "sky pilot" insisting that his 
is the only biblical church. 

More Greek Than Islam. 
The vast European domain of the sultans of other 
days has been reduced to 66,500 square miles, with a 
population of about 6,000,000, and of these there are 
about 700,000 Turks proper, 1,500,000 Albanians, 
1,300,000 Greeks, besides Bulgarians, Wallachians and 
other varieties of humanity. Only about 2,500,000 of 
the people are Mohammedans, hence in population and 
religion European Turkey is more Greek than Islam, 
which shows that the following of the false prophet 
of Mecca have been unable after centuries of despotic 
rule and ruin to destroy the followers of the great 
Nazarene, as represented in the Greek church. Then 
there are many Armenians, some Protestants, and also 
some Roman Catholics, while the powerful Albanians 
belong to various religious sects, but when it comes to 
real Christianity as enunciated by the great teacher 
there is little in Turkey, but alas, this awful indictment 
can be safely lodged against many another nation. Yet 
we find the real thing here in small portions, which 
demonstrates the power of the gospel of unselfish love' 
as taught by the Man of Galilee. 

Is a Dissipated Nation. 

We have been told that this is a temperance nation 
and all because the Koran forbids the use of intoxi- 
cating liquors, but as a matter of fact this is one of the 
most dissipated nations in the world, for while the 
Mohammedans refuse spirits, they absorb large quan- 
tities of opium, and this is certainly a nation of tobacco, 
and especially deadly cigarette fiends. 

The Greeks, of course, use large quantities of wine, 



Glimpses of Europe. 71 

and Austrian and German lager beers are rinding their 
way across the border, and as the new government 
desires to improve the morals of the people they are 
now offering special inducements to the manufac- 
turers of the mild beverages, I am informed, and let 
us hope that a better day awaits the Turk of the next 
generation, for heaven knows the present conditions 
are intolerable. 

Constantinople is one of the world's great cities, and 
one of the most weird and tragic centers. 




Imperial Palace, Yildiz Kiosk, Constantinople. 

Stamboul a Curiosity. 

Stamboul, the Turkish quarter of the capital, is in- 
deed a curiosity, and the whole city is one vast con- 
tradiction, for with its palaces and its hovels it is a 
study. 

In the foreign section of the mysterious metropolis 
one sees something of modern life and comforts, but in 
its ancient and dilapidated quarters there is enough 
crime, poverty and misery to curse a world. 

Poor old Turkey has seen enough of the dark side 



72 Glimpses of Europe. 

of national life, and with a new regime in power and on 
friendly terms with the great powers of Europe, they 
may have crossed the Rubicon, and they may succeed, 
but all is problematical at present. 

Spirit of Liberty Rules. 

One thing is certain even here, and that is, the spirit 
of liberty and democracy has invaded this most des- 
potic country, and has sent the old master who so often 
defied and outwitted the powers to prison, and if the 
Turks are capable of representative government the 
young Ttjrk may bring some sort of order out of the 
present chaotic conditions. 



Greece. 



The Land of Ancient Art. 

ATHENS, Greece, June 8. — Greece, like Italy, is the 
undying remnant of one of the first almost universal 
kingdoms and, although not nearly so important as the 
remains of the Roman empire, yet it is one of the 
world's most interesting and attractive nations. 

Interesting because of its wonderful past and attrac- 
tive in its delightful environs and climate, even though 
hardly a memory of its past glory is suggested except 
in its rules. 

Now a Small Kingdom. 

While Alexander died on his long journey from the 
Indies in India back to his native heath after locating 
his new capital in central Asia, King George of little 
modern Hellenes can cross his domain in a day, and 
the once proud and imperial Athens is now a little city 
of some 235,000 souls. 



Glimpses of Europe. 73 

Greece is about the size of West Virginia, some 24,- 
000 square miles, but while the Allegheny common- 
wealth has only a million people this kingdom has now 
some 2,650,000, yet both are mountainous, and the coast 
of Greece is not nearly so productive as the Ohio val- 
ley in West Virginia. 



The war of 1897 was a great mistake and the best 
thing about it was the shortness of its existence ; 
Greece gained nothing and rolled up a heavy debt, 




Theater of Dionysus at Athens. 



while Crete is still a hotbed of trouble. The possible 
gain of a genuine revival of Grecian patriotism might 
be credited to the disastrous little war, but this is 
doubtful. 



74 Glimpses of Europe. 

Greece has much illiteracy and modern Athens is not 
the seat of learning as it once was. Yet we find a re- 
spectable university here and the public school system 
is being greatly improved of late. Strange, yet true, 
the Athens university is largely attended by Turkish 
subjects. 

We find in Switzerland an alcohol monopoly, and in 
Austria a tobacco monopoly, but here there are sev- 
eral monopolies, salt, matches, etc., but no liquor mo- 
nopoly, or problem. 

Are Wine Growers. 

The Greeks are wine growers and this beverage is 
sold and used with absolute freedom. In the hotels, 
cafes, restaurants, and homes wine is the common 
drink, and is almost universally served with meals. In 
the shops and stores it is sold as any other food neces- 
sity, and there is no thought of its being a "dangerous 
alcoholic drink" or a "poison" to the human system, 
but on the other hand the Greeks consider their wines 
the stay of the nation, as they are so nourishing and 
palatable. 

Of course some spirits are used and beer is finding 
its way into the Hellenes, but there is little or no 
drunkenness to be found in this rugged land of the 
famous nation which has been such a contributor to all 
the arts and sciences, and still retains much that was 
noblest in the Greek character. 

The people use the "weed" (tobacco), one would 
think to excess, yet they are such a strong and healthy 
nation that it seems like folly to indict tobacco and 
wine and charge all the crime to these accounts. 

Athens Is Interesting. 

Athens is today one of the world's most interesting 
cities, because of its past history, its ruins and the at- 



Glimpses of Europe. 



75 



tempted Athenian revival, yet it has only about 235,000 
people, including the environs. 

The modern Athens has a future and its metropoli- 
tan airs are already apparent, as modern ideas are tak- 
ing the place of ancient ways of working and thinking, 
and Greece does not have to apologize for its existence 
as the remains of some great nations of the past do 
(Persia, for example), and yet, how sad to the Grecian 
student are the tours he makes through his little king- 
dom, as he beholds the backward state of agriculture 




Young Turks Advance on Constantinople. 

in many districts and the poverty of this grand race 
which once conquered the world. 

The Greek church is the main institution of the coun-' 
try, and the priests are the lords of the land. The 
Greek church is far from being progressive and the 
state of religion (of a practical kind) is at a low ebb. 

Are Noble People. 

The Greeks, however, are a noble people, even if 
they are clannish, and for this reason the Ottoman 



76 Glimpses of Europe. 

yoke has never fitted the descendants of Plato, Soc- 
rates, and other noble men of the golden age of Gre- 
cian art, literature, and power. 

As to Crete, since 1897 it has been an autonomous 
province under the suzerainty of the porte, but the 
island now has impartial administration under the high 
suzerainty of the Turk, but independent of its suzerain 
under the high commissioner appointed by the powers, 
Prince George of Greece. 



Kingdom of Bavaria. 



Rich, Artistic, Romantic. 

MUNICH, July 9.— From the wretched, half culti- 
vated and pathetic land of the Turk, with its poverty, 
oppression, corruption, and revolutions, not to mention 
its polygamy, opium joints, and general moral discrep- 
ancies, to beautiful, highly cultivated and happy Ba- 
varia, is a long jump. 

The difference in the two countries exceeds by far 
the distance between them, and yet the natural re- 
sources of EuropeanvTurkey are possibly greater than 
this wealthy and artistic little kingdom, but then Ba- 
varia is Germanic and that means so much, and be- 
sides the people are thrifty, happy, religious, and tem- 
perate, notwithstanding the fact that Munich is, like 
prosperous and progressive Milwaukee, a great beer 
metropolis. Its biggest breweries, perhaps are hardly 
so big as the mammoth Pabst and Schlitz plants of the 
Cream city, yet they are very large and there are many 
of them ; the Loewenbrau, the Spaten, Pschorr, and the 
Franzeskaner being famous the world over. 



Glimpses of Europe. 
Free From Drunkenness. 



77 



A friend said to me some time ago, "I want you to 
spend some time in Munich, and then you will con- 
clude that beer is a worse foe to temperance than 
whisky." 

I have been in Munich at different times for weeks 
and I have tried to find the "awful drunken state of 
the Bavarian capital," but my quest has been fruitless, 




Hotel Bavaria, Munich — A Famous Hostelry. 



except that I find it as free from drunkenness as any 
city I know of, and yet I suspect it surpasses the Bel- 
gian capital in its consumption of beer. But the peo- 
ple drink their beer with their meals in their homes, 
in the hotels, restaurants and cafes, and while no doubt 
many drink too much, yet the average Bavarian, 
whether man, woman or youth (for everybody uses 
beer in Bavaria), never thinks of dissipating. 



78 Glimpses of Europe. 

Victims of Opium Habit. 

The most desolate, immoral and offensive country in 
Europe is prohibition Turkey (Turkish part), where 
the people are the victims of the opium habit and the 
slaves of the cigarette, and the most prosperous and 
happy is wonderful Germany for the most part, where 
the people drink pure beer and smoke good cigars, and 
if this is not a tremendous object lesson I am at a loss 
to find one. In all my travels and investigations I 
have found that where the people use most freely the 
mild natural beverages, made from malt and grapes, 
there is far less trouble and practically little inebriety, 
and there must be a reason for this — viz. : The na- 
tions that make it most difficult to sell and use the fer- 
mented beverages are the very ones that excel in 
drunkenness and drug habits. I commend this fact to 
the lawmakers of America and Great Britain, where 
statutes affecting the retail sale of all intoxicants and 
beverages are being enacted continually. 

The Bavarian system requires every hotel, restau- 
rant and cafe to secure a license, and the cost is pro- 
portionate to the size and location of the business, 
hence it is absolutely just. The regulations are perfect 
and simple, and they are complied with to the letter 
and kept in spirit, so the drinking places in Bavaria, 
be they hotels, restaurants or regular cafes (the Ger- 
man saloon), are just as respectable as any place of 
business, where families and friends gather to eat, 
drink, and enjoy themselves. 

Ranks Next to Prussia. 

Bavaria, next to Prussia, is the largest and most im- 
portant kingdom in the great German empire, and it 
occupies a unique relationship to the empire, being 
almost absolutely autonomous. The emperor is com- 



Glimpses of Europe. 

mander in chief of the Bavarian army only in time of 
war, and Bavaria is to all intents and purposes a king- 
dom of itself. The tariff laws of Germany apply to all 
the states, and the navy is entirely imperial, but 
many of the states, have their war departments, own 
their own railways and public works, and especially is 
this true of this country, with its king, parliament, 
prime minister (president), and ministers of foreign 
affairs, justice, interior, instruction, finance, communi- 
cations, and war. 

University Kingdom's Pride. 

The great university is the pride of the capital and 
the kingdom, and it, with the famous art and picture 
galleries renders Munich one of the world's greatest 
intellectual and art centers. 

To the south of Munich, under the Bavarian Alps, 
lies one of the world's most interesting and strange 
towns, I refer to Oberammergau, the home of the Pas- 
sion Play. 

I am told that the people are all kinsfolk, and they 
are wary of outsiders except to entertain them and get 
their marks. 

* * * 
Munich, with its environs, has some 700,000 people, 
and it is without doubt one of the world's most inter- 
esting, fascinating and beautiful capitals; being the 
capital, the commercial metropolis, the great art and 
educational center, it holds undisputed sway between 
Paris and Vienna, east and west, and Berlin and Milan, 
north and south. It is more to Bavaria than Brussels 
is to Belgium, for no Antwerp lies under it to show its 
commercial prowess. The city is clean and fine in 
most respects, while art is seen upon every hand and it 
is daily improving; since I was here last year, one of 



80 Glimpses of Europe. 

the most beautiful and perfect hotels has gone up, and 
while Berlin has its new "Adlon," Hamburg its "At- 
lantic," Munich has its "Regina Palace Hotel." We 
hear much about the "last word in hotel construction," 
but if this can be said of any of them, I am sure it ap- 
plies to Munich's latest granite structure. 

* * * 

Old Nuremburg is a big city full of interest, with 
over 300,000 people; and is a great manufacturing 
center. The famous city of Augsburg has over 100,000 
inhabitants, and is also a fine city; then there is Wurz- 
burg, another important and historic city of 95,000 
prosperous and happy people, while the whole king- 
dom is dotted with splendid smaller cities, and its 
beautiful and prosperous towns and villages are found 
everywhere, even in the deep passes through the Alps. 

Owns Its Railroads. 

Bavaria owns its railways, and of the public debt of 
some $482,536,580, $352,835,495 of it is for railways 
bought and constructed, which shows the vast outlay 
in this direction, but as the fine railways and roads 
make Bavaria so prosperous and inviting, the debt is 
easily borne. Municipal ownership of public utilities 
is the rule in all German states. 

City Is Charming. 

Taken all in all, I am delighted with this lovely coun- 
try, and especially this magnificent, prosperous and 
happy city; with its commercial prowess, its culture, 
and its manifold advantages it is certainly a most 
charming city, and one can understand why Germany- 
is such a prosperous, marvelous and progressive coun- 
try when he visits and learns to know Munich, Berlin, 
Hamburg, and other great manufacturing and com- 
mercial centers ; and there are its great university cen- 
ters of art, music, and culture. 



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